Pre-trip Shakedown

on 23 February 2009

This past weekend I spent in upstate NY's amazingly formidable Adirondack Mountains. I went with a group of friends for a weekend of snowshoeing and fresh air. We climbed Giant mountain which is the 12th highest in NY state. Here are the statistics captured from the MotionX-GPS on my iPhone, the same I'll be using for the AT. Click on this link to display the track in Google Maps. This link will be valid until Mar 3, 2009 5:16 PM PST.

Name: Giant MTN
Date: Feb 20, 2009 7:15 am
Distance: 6.86 miles
Elapsed Time: 6:44:19
Avg Speed: 1.0 mph
Max Speed: 15.1 mph
Min Altitude: 1,463 ft
Max Altitude: 4,542 ft
Start Time: 2009-02-20T12:15:20Z
Start Location:
Latitude: 44.138459º N
Longitude: 73.743667º W
End Time: 2009-02-20T18:59:40Z
End Location:
Latitude: 44.138463º N
Longitude: 73.743627º W

I know, I know...max speed - 15mph?!?! Mr. Wiech brought mini sleds for us all to slide down on. I was a little sore after which means I need to beef up my training for the AT.

Home Sweet Home

on 11 February 2009

I have a tent....but in my never-ending attempt to trim as much weight from my pack as possible I got a new one that weighs less and is probably more rain resistant. The tent weighs in at less than 4 lbs when packed up...not too shabby! The Appalachian trail has around 250 shelters dispersed along the entire length. We call them "lean-tos" here in NY and they are simple 3-sided structures like the one pictured at the right. Despite their prevalence, you still need to bring a tent just in case a lean-to is not available or full. Many of them are infested with snakes and mice. Some people even bring mouse traps with them in an attempt to cut down on the number of mice scurrying past their heads while they sleep. Anyway, I'm hoping to keep my pack weight at no more than 35 lbs...that includes between 3-5 days of food at any given time between resupply points, but we'll see once I stuff everything in there.

Introduction

on 06 February 2009

Well it's official! I will be attempting to thru-hike the entire 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail from Springer Mtn in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine and GUESS WHAT?? I'm bringing you all with me...virtually, through the computer. This will be your source for the Groton Appalachian Trail project. I'm packing my bag with important things like a tent, food, and a sleeping bag but I am also bringing my phone and a sweet solar charger so I can communicate with everyone on the trail through this website. If you're interested in what I'm bringing, there is a list to the right.

On April 3rd I am meeting my friend Kevin (and his dog Lucy) in Atlanta, Georgia. You'll all get to know him soon because we'll be spending 24 hours a day together for 5 months. Think about that: that's more time than most married couples spend together. Will we get sick of each other? Can you think of anyone you could spend that much time with? We'll hike together, talk together, cook together, do laundry together, and probably disagree on a lot of things but you know what? We'll have to work together because we both have a goal to reach Maine by the end of August.

Between now and April I'll be talking about all of the preparation that goes into a trip like this; the food, the packing, getting in shape, etc.

Let's go hiking!